Listen:  125.4

So often we want to hear from the Lord, but we really don’t recognize when the Lord is actually talking to us.  The most important means we have of communicating with the Lord is through His Word.  There, He talks to us, He comforts us, He strengthens us, and He guides us.  We are told in several places of the necessity of learning God’s Word.  The Lord Jesus himself said in John 5:39, “Search the scripturesthey are they which testify of me.”  We read about the Bereans in Acts 17:11which says, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”  These Berean believers desired to hear from the Lord, so they read His Word every day.   

Those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior are indwelt with the Holy Spirit.  The Lord Jesus said of Him in John 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”  The Lord assures us that the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, will open the Word of God to us and allow us to learn what the Lord has to say to us, when we read the Word of God.

Too often, we look for the Lord to come to us in a powerful and convincing way.  We long for a thunderous and distinctive voice from the Lord.  That is just not the Lord’s way.  Let’s read of an important event in the life of Elijah, the prophet.  1 Kings 19:11-13tells us, “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?”  Elijah longed to hear from the Lord.  He expected the Lord to come to him in a great wind, or a mighty earthquake, or a great fire.  However, the Lord was in none of those things.  He spoke to Elijah in a ‘still small voice’.  That’s the kind of voice where we have to stop and be still so that we can hear.  Such as it is with us.  The Lord speaks to our hearts through His Word.  We need to meditate quietly upon His Word so that the Holy Spirit can speak to our hearts and reveal the Word to us.  The Lord may desire to impress some personal guidance to us, but we will receive it only when we are still and listening, willing to follow His leading. 

You also mentioned that you want to talk to the Lord, but, for some reason, you can’t.  Let me assure you, that if you are a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord will always listen to you as you speak to Him in prayer.  The Lord’s ear is always open to the prayers of His children.  We are told in Psalms 121:4that the Lord, “…shall neither slumber nor sleep.”  He is always awake and attentive to our prayers.  Besides teaching us from God’s Word, the Holy Spirit also helps us in our prayers.  Romans 8:26-27tells us, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”  If you feel you just don’t know what to say to the Lord in your prayers, just wait upon His Spirit to intercede on your behalf, saying to the Lord the proper things.  The Lord longs to hear from His redeemed children.  He also longs to talk to His redeemed children.  May we value the privilege of prayer and value His Word; spending time each day, both praying and studying God’s Word.  (125.4)